


bad blood

by inkin_brushes



Series: Immortals (Vamp AU) [40]
Category: VIXX
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-14
Updated: 2014-06-14
Packaged: 2018-05-27 11:34:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6282967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inkin_brushes/pseuds/inkin_brushes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hakyeon and Taekwoon part for the first time since Hakyeon’s turning to visit two very different people.</p>
            </blockquote>





	bad blood

“I’m nervous,” Hakyeon said softly, peering out timidly from the alleyway. He was looking across the street, at the little charm shop sandwiched between a deli and a second hand clothing shop.  
  
“It will be fine,” Taekwoon murmured, taking his hand in a soft grip that Hakyeon deeply appreciated. It was more comforting than he’d like to admit aloud. Taekwoon drew Hakyeon out of the alleyway, passing underneath a streetlamp as they crossed the street.  
  
Hakyeon had always been able to feel the warding of Kyungsoo’s shop, but as a vampire, it was all the more potent. It felt as if the whole place should have some sort of forcefield crackling around it. Maybe it did and Hakyeon just couldn’t see it.  
  
Hakyeon looked back at Taekwoon, who gave him a gentle nod of encouragement. “It won’t hurt you,” he murmured. “He is expecting you.”  
  
Taekwoon let his hand go as Hakyeon stepped forward alone. He put his fingertips lightly on the doorknob of the front door, expecting to be shocked, but all that happened was the metal fizzed, not altogether pleasantly, against his skin. Hakyeon relaxed marginally, after that, and grabbed the doorknob properly, finding it let him turn it, let the door swing open.   
  
The smell of magic, a different sort, wafted out of the open door. It smelled raw, somehow, a metallic tang that Hakyeon could only liken to blood.   
  
Hakyeon swallowed, nervous all over again. He could see into the darkness of Kyungsoo’s shop, catching no movement, but he could hear a steady heartbeat. He looked back at Taekwoon again, finding he was watching Hakyeon, but had not moved any nearer. “Aren’t you coming in with me?”  
  
Taekwoon shook his head. “I think you should be given a private reunion, and while you are doing so I have something else I can attend to.”  
  
They hadn’t been separated since Hakyeon had turned, not properly, and the thought made Hakyeon feel anxious. “I— what if something happens? What if I go all—”  
  
“I trust Kyungsoo to be able to control you,” Taekwoon said blandly, “as well as protect you.”  
  
Yes, right. Kyungsoo was more than human. In a horrible moment, Hakyeon wondered what that would mean for his blood, and the effect he’d have on Hakyeon. Would he be more tempting, or less?  
  
Hakyeon clenched his hands into fists and nodded. He turned and went into the shop, letting the door close behind him, the bell over the door jarringly loud to his keen ears. He’d put this off for so long. It wasn’t because he hadn’t wanted to see Kyungsoo, more just that he was afraid to see how things would have changed. But after Halloween, it had hit Hakyeon exactly how long it had been, and he knew he had no right to put this off any longer. He had to face his fears eventually.   
  
The amulet around his neck pinged, almost a whispered greeting, the softest of _hello_ s, and there was corresponding pinging and chiming from the wards and charms amidst the shelves. As Hakyeon made his way to the back of the shop, many of the charms rattled. Some of them were hostile, but none of them were potent enough to bother him, and he continued past.   
  
He followed the sound of Kyungsoo’s heartbeat into the back of the shop, through the little hallway to Kyungsoo’s workshop. It was all so bright to Hakyeon’s eyes now, and the smells were so much thicker. There was the scent of smoke, blood, the acidity of magic, intangible though it was.   
  
Kyungsoo only had one small light on in his workshop, and a handful of candles. It made it easier for Hakyeon to see, than if he’d had the fluorescents on. He could hear Kyungsoo’s heartbeat, but he couldn’t see Kyungsoo in the workshop, and he stepped in, then startled, actually startled, at the door shutting behind him. He turned to see Kyungsoo standing there, smiling up at him. He had— had blood on his mouth, and not the way Hakyeon usually did. It was like he’d dipped his finger in a jar of it and then run that finger diagonally over his lips. He had a similar mark over his throat, and as Hakyeon looked him up and down, he saw them on his wrists too.  
  
“You scared me,” Hakyeon said softly. “I didn’t hear you move.”  
  
Kyungsoo smiled wider. “You weren’t supposed to.”  
  
“What is that?” Hakyeon asked, gesturing at Kyungsoo’s mouth, at the smear of blood, even though he could already guess.  
  
“A precaution,” Kyungsoo said, giving a one shouldered shrug, as if to say it wasn’t a big deal. He moved around Hakyeon, going to the table, and as he did so he passed very close, and Hakyeon smelled—  
  
Hakyeon blinked. “You smell like a vampire,” he said.   
  
“Astute observation,” Kyungsoo said. He sank into a chair and motioned for Hakyeon to sit in the one opposite. Hakyeon did, moving a little too quickly. Kyungsoo didn’t seem to mind. “I couldn’t cover up the heartbeat— or it was more that I didn’t want to bother. I figured the scent would be a bigger issue, anyway.”  
  
“I actually seem to be a bit more attuned to auditory things,” Hakyeon said, a little numbly, “but yeah, scent is a big trigger.”  
  
“Duly noted,” Kyungsoo said, folding his hands together. He gave Hakyeon a soft smile, his eyes turning into crescents behind his thick glasses. “It’s good to see you.”  
  
“It’s good to see you too,” Hakyeon said softly, meaning it.  
  
“You waited a long time.”  
  
There was a slight reprimand there, and Hakyeon looked away. “I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I’ve— it’s different, with Sanghyuk, than it is with you. I feel a little guilty, even though I knew you wouldn’t judge me for anything.”  
  
“The nature of my job is that I must remain neutral,” Kyungsoo said. “I do not judge, I cannot judge. The Balance is all that can judge us.” He cocked his head to the side a little, surveying Hakyeon. “How have you been adjusting, then? Guilt can be helpful but it can also be toxic.”  
  
Hakyeon traced his fingertips along a scorch mark on the table. The wood felt— buzzy, under his skin. It was saturated in magic. “I’m adjusting well, I suppose,” Hakyeon murmured. “It’s— I just try not to think about it, you know? I had a hard time at first. But it is what it is, I can’t go back, so all I can do is go on as I am now.”   
  
Kyungsoo was frowning, just slightly. “I wish vampires could live off animal blood,” he said softly, “or even just stale human blood. It’s a cruel twist of fate, that the only blood vampires can truly gain sustenance from is blood streaming from a living human.”  
  
It was a cruel twist of fate indeed. “I cried a lot over it, at the start, but that wastes blood, so I stopped,” Hakyeon said, pulling up a smile, as if trying to ward off tears even now. “I do feel very guilty though. I can’t seem to stop.”  
  
“I think— and this is going to sound terrible— but I think that’s for the best,” Kyungsoo said. “I mean, don’t let it overwhelm you, but you retaining a conscience, your humanity, it will help you, in the long run. You gather less recoil when killing, if you feel bad for it, if you mourn your victims.”  
  
Hakyeon snorted. It was like vampires were made to be miserable creatures or utter monsters. What had gone so wrong, all those millennia ago, to make such pitiful creatures. It felt almost like a trial.  
  
Kyungsoo was staring at him, his face so young and soft, but somehow radiating an ancient sort of peace. “I hope you haven’t been wallowing in your guilt,” he said, and there was something soothing in his tone, and Hakyeon could almost feel his thoughts being shifted away from his cloud of negativity. “There were many reasons you wanted to turn— Taekwoon, mainly. How is he? How are the two of you?”  
  
“He’s adjusting to it, like I am,” Hakyeon said, and this time his smile was genuine, if soft. “We’re doing well, I think. He’s a good teacher, he’s very patient with me.” He laughed, a little. “I’m just— I’m sure I must be annoying at times, you know? Everything is just so new. I always find myself repeating how bright everything looks, how strong the smells are— that sort of stuff. It’s all still very striking to me, even though it’s been months. I’m so _fast_ now, and strong, but it’s more than that— I just feel sharp. It’s a sort of clarity I used to get glimpses of on hunts, when I was human, and I had that adrenaline high that plateaued out and left me with cold purpose. But now it’s like that all the time.”  
  
Kyungsoo was smiling, slightly, at Hakyeon’s wonder. “What do you do, usually? When you’re not hunting.”  
  
“Not much,” Hakyeon said truthfully, thinking about it. “We go out for walks, I like to run, and Taekwoon and I play fight, but that—” _That usually devolves into sex_. Hakyeon decided to keep that to himself. A lot of things with Hakyeon and Taekwoon devolved into sex, nowadays. It was something Hakyeon had recognized early on and also sensed danger in. Because they were both vampires now and they didn’t get tired, so there was nothing to ever _stop them_. They’d lost entire nights just rolling around in bed. It got ridiculous.   
  
Kyungsoo’s smile widened a little, and he looked away. “I’ve heard vampire sex is an... experience.”  
  
Hakyeon grunted, not going to chase after that bait.   
  
“Where is Taekwoon, anyway?” Kyungsoo asked, cocking his head to the side. “I sensed him outside with you, but then you were here and he was gone.”  
  
“He said he had something to attend to,” Hakyeon said, wondering the exact same thing.  
  
——  
  
Their master’s home was empty. Taekwoon stood in the living room, peering around. Sometimes, coming back here was like stepping into a time capsule. It had changed very little, since he’d been turned.   
  
He wasn’t surprised Wonshik and Hongbin were out. They were most likely hunting, but he’d been hoping Jaehwan would be here, watching one of his petty television shows. Tracking him down shouldn’t be an issue, though. If he wasn’t here, there was only one other place he’d be.   
  
So Taekwoon left, going back to the surface and following Jaehwan’s scent trail, the feeling of their blood bond.   
  
He eventually found Jaehwan on a rooftop, leaning against the banister that ran along the edge. He didn’t turn around when Taekwoon flit to stand beside him, when he leaned on the banister too, to see what it was Jaehwan was looking at.  
  
It was Sanghyuk, of course, half a block away, presumably on patrol with his partner.   
  
“My dear brother,” Jaehwan said, still not looking at him. His voice lacked most of its usual bite. “To what do I owe this pleasure.”  
  
Taekwoon looked at him, his tense muscles and pose that was artfully designed to look at ease. Jaehwan had never been a good liar, which Taekwoon had always thought to be somewhat odd, everything considered.   
  
“I merely wanted to check up on you,” Taekwoon murmured, truthfully.   
  
Jaehwan looked at him then, raising an eyebrow. “After three hundred years you’re finally developing some brotherly instincts for me? It’s a bit late for that, and I’m not entirely sure I want it.”  
  
Taekwoon stared at him, waiting until Jaehwan got a little fidgety, before he spoke. “What are you doing, following Sanghyuk around, Jaehwan?”  
  
Jaehwan’s upper lip curled. “You’re here because Hakyeon sent you, aren’t you?” he sneered. “Here to meddle, to boss me around.”  
  
“Hakyeon loves Sanghyuk,” Taekwoon murmured, and Jaehwan made a weird noise. It was almost a laugh, but there was no amusement in it. He turned, looking away from Taekwoon, at Sanghyuk and his partner, who’d gotten further away. It was like he couldn’t bear to keep his eyes away from them. “He worries for Sanghyuk. Is that why you are here as well? Because you are concerned?”  
  
Jaehwan jerked, like Taekwoon had struck him, whirling to scowl at him. “No, why on Earth would you think that?”  
  
Taekwoon’s lips pursed, for a moment, weighing his words. “When Hakyeon was still human, still hunting, I followed him on hunts,” Taekwoon said, “because I was concerned for his safety.”  
  
Jaehwan was already shaking his head. “I am not you, dear brother, we have some very defining differences in our personalities. You have— have weaknesses I do not,” he spat out. “I am simply bored— the house has been quiet of late, and I am no longer used to lacking entertainment.”  
  
Taekwoon wanted to ask if watching Sanghyuk walk about aimlessly for hours on end was entertaining, but he held himself back. He sensed if he pushed Jaehwan too hard in regards to this, it would simply cause him to dig his heels in further.   
  
Not that that would help, at this point. Taekwoon wondered if Jaehwan even knew how far gone he was.   
  
Sanghyuk and Sungjae had disappeared around the street corner, and Jaehwan kept glancing at the spot they’d last been able to see them, as if he itched to follow. Taekwoon would take pity on him. “Well,” he said blandly, “your entertainment escapes, it would seem. I shall let you catch up, before they go too far.”  
  
“How kind of you,” Jaehwan said, but the snark was lost amidst his relief. He flit away before Taekwoon could say anything else.  
  
Taekwoon sighed, the sound lost in the breeze. This wasn’t good.  
  
——  
  
When Hakyeon stepped out of Kyungsoo’s shop, the night air cleansing him from the heavy feeling on magic on his skin, Taekwoon was there waiting for him.   
  
Hakyeon went to him, wrapping his arms around Taekwoon’s middle, and Taekwoon held him close, kissing his temple softly. Hakyeon’s amulet let out a clear little musical note. “How was Kyungsoo?” Taekwoon murmured.  
  
“The same as always,” Hakyeon said, knowing Taekwoon would understand that was a good thing, a comfort. He’d left his friend in his workshop where he’d found him, and promised to come by again, soon.   
  
“That is good.”  
  
Hakyeon pulled away a little, so he could look up at Taekwoon’s face. “Where did you go?”  
  
Taekwoon gently brushed Hakyeon’s hair out of his eyes, letting his fingertips linger on Hakyeon’s cheek. “It doesn’t matter.”  
  
He kissed Hakyeon then, and Hakyeon figured that yes, it probably didn’t matter.


End file.
